


Nothing Left (Nothing Left for Me to Do)

by simplyobsessed



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, alternate prom scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 03:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18792301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyobsessed/pseuds/simplyobsessed
Summary: When Emma walks into the empty gymnasium, she's devastated. All she wants is to get out of there and forget this entire nightmare.But then her phone rings.orAlyssa's friends choose to help her when they find out about her relationship with Emma.





	Nothing Left (Nothing Left for Me to Do)

No, no, no.

Deep breath. Inhale, exhale.

_No, no, no._

_No._

How was this happening? After everything they put her through, the teasing and snickering, the flat-out bullying. How was it possible that something could hurt even more? How could they be so cruel?

And how did she not see this coming?

Inhale. Exhale.

_Just breathe._

Standing in the middle of the gymnasium, surrounded by a group of middle-aged adults without another teenager in sight, Emma realizes this may be her breaking point. It’s the culmination of everything—her parents, the threats at school, the prom cancellation, the PTA, the hiding, the lying—it’s too much.

All she wanted was to go to prom with Alyssa, to spend one goddamn night with her girlfriend, to have a  _normal_  high school experience.

Fuck normal.

But she’s devastated anyway because, for a single moment, she let her guard down. She allowed herself to hope, she let herself believe that everything would be fine. After all she’s gone through, what the adults in her life have done for her, this outcome doesn’t feel justified in the least.

Emma has thick skin, she’s sure of that. What she isn’t so sure of, however, is how much more of this she can take.

The world swirls as her brain tries to process everything. Principal Hawkins and Dee Dee, she can hear them arguing. Barry, she can hear his breakdown. But it all sounds so distant, muffled. As though she’s being submerged in water.

Sinking, sinking.

_Drowning._

Closing her eyes, Emma takes another deep breath. Barry was wrong; the night was never hers to begin with. Since the moment she strolled into the office to buy prom tickets, everything has been about  _them_. Their opinions, their beliefs, their feelings.

And they couldn’t spare a god damn minute to consider how any of this was affecting her.

Fighting back tears, Emma blinks rapidly as she wills the thought away. She’s not going to cry, she isn’t going to give them that power, that satisfaction. Even if her classmates aren’t here to witness it, Emma refuses to break down.

Not over this.

Suddenly, she needs to be somewhere, anywhere but here. This gym, these pathetic decorations; they’re all reminders of what she wishes so desperately to forget. Pretending this night, this entire nightmare, isn’t happening will be a lot easier without the visual cues.

_Forget, forget,_ she wills herself.

_Forget._

But then she feels it.

And, as the water seemingly drains from her ears, she hears it.

Ringing.

Reaching for her purse, Emma pulls out the vibrating phone. The screen glows bright, a stark contrast to the dimly lit gym; the caller ID letting her know who’s on the line.

_Alyssa._

Of course. How could she forget about her girlfriend, the one of them who was actually invited to the normal person’s prom. Emotions build as she accepts the call, despair giving way to pure rage.

“Alyssa?” Emma answers, no sign of the anger boiling within.

The voice on the other end conveys far more emotion. “ _Emma,_ ” Alyssa answers, tears evident in her voice. “ _Emma, I swear I had no idea!_ ”

And that puts her over the edge. With friends like Shelby and Kaylee; all those dates with Greg; her own mother, head of the PTA. Alyssa herself was on the prom committee. There’s no way she wouldn’t have known, Emma tries to convince herself of that.

“I don’t believe you,” she admits, ready to tear into her girlfriend. Because, even if there is a chance Alyssa’s telling the truth, Emma is too far gone. This is already the worst night of her entire life, the last thing she needs is another lie.

“ _You think I would do something like this to you?_ ” Her voice is still shaking. “ _Emma, you know me_.”

_‘Do I?’_  The question is on the tip of her tongue because, right now, it doesn’t feel like she knows anything or anybody. Clearly, people have been lying to her face all week; tonight is the culmination of their plan and Monday at school will be the payoff, when they can finally laugh in her face.

As much as Emma wants to believe Alyssa, she’s afraid to put herself in that position. If it turns out her girlfriend was in on it all along, the hurt will be too much.

For a year and a half, Emma has been patient with Alyssa. The lying, the hiding, the fake boy dates; knowing the situation her girlfriend faces at home, Emma has been understanding since the beginning.

But it’s been a year and a half. She’s done feeling selfish for wanting something more.

While she would never force Alyssa to come out, Emma’s starting to realize she needs to take care of herself every now and then. Putting the needs of others before her own has left her feeling nothing but miserable and exhausted.

And she can’t bring herself to care if that’s selfish. Not tonight.

Caught up in her own inner turmoil, Emma realizes she must have zoned out when she hears Alyssa’s voice call to her over the line.

“ _Emma,_ ” Alyssa repeats, “ _are you still at the school?_ ”

Still reeling from her thoughts, Emma stumbles over her words. “I, uh. Yeah, we’re still here for now.”

“ _Who’s we?"_

“Aside from the actors who have been following me around all month,” she lets out a strained laugh, “just Mr. Hawkins. And Sheldon. Why do you even care?”

“ _Can you hand the phone to Barry?_ ”

“What the hell-” Emma can’t keep up with the conversation. Why would Alyssa want to talk to someone she's never even met? 

Alyssa cuts her off with a sigh, “ _Never mind, wait one second_.”

Through the phone, Emma can hear some shuffling and mumbled conversation but not enough to gather any information on what the hell her girlfriend is up to. “Alyssa, hello?”

Nothing.

No more shuffling or conversation.

_Absolute silence._

Emma feels her stomach drop. “Hello?” she repeats, pulling the phone from her ear to make sure she’s still on the line.

But she isn’t. The call has been ended and Emma can now see that she has over a dozen missed text messages from her girlfriend.

Before she has a chance to check them, however, she hears footsteps in the hall. Quick, rapid footsteps. As though someone is running.

And then, “hey.”

The voice is crisp and clear, registering in Emma’s ears. Turning on her heels, a pale pink dress catches her eye before her brain can recognize the person wearing it. Alyssa, standing at the gym doors. Her eyes are red and glossy, she looks more disheveled than Emma can ever recall seeing.

But she’s still gorgeous.

And she’s here.

Her girlfriend is here.

_With her._

Shock shoots through her system, overriding every other emotion brought on by this whole ordeal. “I, uh,” Emma sputters, “hey.”

It’s lame and pathetic, but it’s all she can manage.

Because  _Alyssa is here_.

“Hi.” Alyssa raises a hand in an awkward wave, her chest heaving as though she’s just run a marathon. “I’m here.”

It’s those words that break Emma. The weight of the past ten minutes, the past month, the past year and a half lifts; emotions begin bubbling over and there’s no stopping them. Before the first tear hits her cheek, Emma feels her girlfriend's strong arms wrap around her and melts into the embrace.

“I’m here,” Alyssa repeats, her breath warm against Emma’s neck.

Words aren’t necessary as the hug continues. Apologies, questions; they can wait. Right now, all Emma wants is to be held by her girlfriend. She doesn't need to ask how Alyssa is feeling, and neither does her girlfriend. They both know. But, being together, that's enough for right now.

Alyssa's arms remind Emma that this is real, that—although in an entirely different way than expected—she’s with her girlfriend at the prom.

They also do a pretty good job of helping her forget everything else.

The moment is interrupted by a loud horn coming from outside. “Shit.” Alyssa pulls back, surveying her girlfriend’s face before turning to Barry with a sheepish look on her face. “Would you be able to spare me a couple of dollars?” she asks, chewing her bottom lip. “I had to grab a cab and I didn’t exactly have any money on me.”

With a wave of his hand, Barry lets Alyssa know not to worry. Emma doesn’t miss the wink he sends her while making his exit.

“You took a cab?” she asks once he’s out of sight, wiping the tears from her face.

Alyssa shrugs her shoulders as she dabs at a few of her own tears. “As soon as my mother pulled up to the Elks Club, I knew…god, I knew. This must have been her plan all along, she was never going to be okay with it.” Her frustration is palpable, shoulders shaking as she speaks. “I should have known better.”

Emma reaches for Alyssa, her fingers gliding over the soft skin of her cheek. “Alyssa,” she whispers, sliding her hand under the girl’s chin. Gently, she raises it until Alyssa’s eyes meet her own. “You trusted your mother and she lied to you. None of this is your fault.”

Pressing her lips together, Alyssa nods. “Yeah,” she whispers, leaning in to rest her forehead against her girlfriend’s. Emma presses a chaste kiss against her lips.

The moment feels fragile, as if a single wrong step could send it crashing. When Alyssa reaches for Emma's hands, giving them a tight squeeze, her intent is apparent. She's grounding herself. Clearly Emma isn’t the only one struggling to accept that this is real. Mind reeling, Emma tries piecing together the night’s events so she can begin to process it all. The highest of highs to the lowest of lows, and now back to feeling on top of the world.

“I still don’t understand how you managed to get out of there,” Emma says, trying to fill in some missing pieces. “Your mother must have been watching you like a hawk.”

“Oh, she was. I had a little help, actually. Shelby,” she nods, never letting go of Emma’s hands. “I’m not sure how, but her and Kaylee know about us. I was freaking out, trying to figure out what to do, when she found me. She told me they knew our secret and wanted to help. She called a cab in case I wanted to get out of there and had Kaylee on lookout. As soon as it pulled up to the Elks Club, she texted Shelby who then escorted me out. Thankfully, my mother still trusts her so she didn’t come running after us.”

It takes Emma a second to absorb what Alyssa’s just said. There have been a lot of surprises tonight but that? “Wow,” she breathes, before catching herself. “Sorry, but I mean, definitely didn’t see that one coming.”

That gets a laugh out of Alyssa. “Yeah, me either,” she agrees. “Maybe all my friendships aren’t as fake as I thought.”

They fall silent after that, both girls’ minds running at a mile a minute.

With all Emma is trying to process, she can’t even imagine what’s going through her girlfriend’s head in that moment. Pulling up to the Elks Club, knowing Emma would be at the school, learning her friends had found out about their relationship; Alyssa clearly has a lot to wrap her head around.

“Can we take a walk?” Alyssa asks, gesturing to the door.

With the adults gathered in the corner, doing a terrible job of pretending they’re oblivious to the pair, Emma can understand the desire for privacy. Letting go of one of Alyssa’s hands, she guides them out of the gym and into the empty hallways.

Even with everything that has happened tonight, Emma still feels giddy as she walks through the halls holding her girlfriend’s hand.

_Empty halls._

But it’s still so much more than they’ve ever done before.

Their shoulders brush as they pass the library, bringing wide smiles to the faces of both girls as they meet each other’s gaze.

“I tried texting you,” Alyssa starts, sounding apologetic.

Emma nods, having pieced together the content of those unread messages upon her girlfriend’s arrival. “I was a little preoccupied. Barry had this whole thing earlier and I didn’t even think to check my phone.” She sighs, her free hand tugging at the material of the dress. As much as Emma appreciates everything Barry has done for her, she’s really starting to regret this dress.

And not checking her phone.

“I wish Shelby had come clean earlier,” Alyssa sighs, “I could have been here with you, or let you know the new location. I'm not sure when they found out about us, but I’m positive-”

“Hey,” she cuts her off. Though Emma’s doubtful she’ll ever be friends with those girls—there is far too much history there—knowing they helped Alyssa lessens her resentment towards them. She doesn’t want Alyssa getting worked up over the  _what-ifs_  and she tells her as much. “You’re here now and that’s what matters, alright?”

While that doesn’t seem to appease Alyssa, she does drop the subject for the time being.

“But what about your mom?” Despite her better judgement, Emma needs to ask the question. Mrs. Greene has always been a sore spot in their relationship. Unless Alyssa brings her mother up, which is a rarity, they never mention her.

But, now, Alyssa is here. She left the other prom— _she left her mother_ —to come to Emma. This is clearly something they need to discuss because it’s a huge deal for her girlfriend; the consequences may be serious. It leaves Emma feeling like crap, to know she doubted Alyssa's intentions for even a moment when her girlfriend was turning her life upside down to come to her.  

Letting out a sigh, Alyssa lets go of Emma’s hand to lean against the lockers. “Honestly,” she starts, “I’m pretty sure she already knew.”

Emma tries to read Alyssa’s face because  _holy shit_ , but it gives nothing away.

“What, how?”

Shaking her head, Alyssa closes her eyes and continues. “I mean, I’ve had my suspicions in the past. She’s not a great mother but she isn’t absent either. I can only lie about spending weekends studying at the library so many times.” She sends Emma a sly grin, both knowing full well what those afternoons had actually entailed. “But this prom? I’ve never seen anything get to her like this. To go out of her way and plan two proms, she must have known there was some personal stake in it.”

Despite the situation, Alyssa seems to have calmed down considerably since arriving at the school. She doesn't appear to be panicking, even while talking about her mother. If anything, she looks peaceful.  _Care-free_.

Emma, however, is completely freaking out because this is Mrs. Greene they’re talking about. The primary reason for their hiding, the entire reason for the original prom cancellation. To say Emma is terrified of the woman would be an understatement.

Sensing her girlfriend's train of thought, Alyssa motions for Emma to come to her. “I’ve been terrified for so long, Emma,” she starts, leaning her head against Emma’s shoulder. “So many of our moments have been tainting by my fears and I really don’t want this to be one of them, okay? I want to enjoy this, right now, and I can deal with her tonight.”

Nodding in understanding, Emma drops her head to rest on Alyssa’s. “Would it be completely out of line to ask you to spend the night at my place? I’d rather you wait and face her in the morning, give her some time to cool off. I’ll sleep on the couch and everything, Gram can vouch for that.”

“You’re sweet,” she smiles, moving to wrap both arms around Emma. The contact is a comfort for them both, anchoring them to the moment. “I am going to call, though. She might go to the police if I don’t show up at home.”

And, from the stories Alyssa has told her, Emma wouldn’t put it past Mrs. Greene to actually call the cops so she doesn’t argue. They just continue holding each other, enjoying the feeling of being in each other’s arms.

“Wanna get out of here? This is really depressing,” Emma eventually says, pulling back to gesture at dimly lit hallway.

Scrunching her nose, Alyssa looks around. “It’s kind of growing on me.”

“Seriously?”

That earns Emma an eye roll. “No,” Alyssa laughs. “This is terrible, we really should leave.”

And Emma smiles because, how could she not? Her girlfriend is such a dork.

The relief that washes over Emma as they pass the threshold of the gymnasium is both unexpected and overwhelming. When she last walked into this room, nearly an hour ago, there were so many feelings rushing through her: excitement, pride, happiness. The blow was all the more crushing because of that hope.

Now, however, there are no expectations. Leaving this place, the half-assed decorations along with the memories, behind is freeing. Though Monday will likely be hell, knowing she can walk out tonight on her own terms is liberating.

“Before we leave,” Alyssa reaches for her hand, stopping Emma in her tracks. “Emma Nolan, may I have this dance?”

Head cocked to the side, Emma looks like a deer in headlights. “Are you being sarcastic again?” Shaking her head, Alyssa guides her girlfriend to the half court line. “But there’s no music.”

“Allow me.” Angie’s voice takes Emma by surprise; somehow, she’d forgotten they weren’t alone. The other adults are still there as well, she realizes, but can’t bring herself to care if they’re watching.

When “You’re the One That I Want” from  _Grease_  starts playing, Emma lets out a groan. “ _Angie,_ ” she hisses through gritted teeth. Alyssa laughs as the woman feigns an apology, clearly amused by the reaction.

Angie places her phone down on the floor next to the girls, pressing play on a song Emma isn’t familiar with. The female voice fills the air as she steps back to rejoin the other adults, leaving Emma and Alyssa alone on the makeshift dance floor.

It's Alyssa who makes the first move, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s waist and pulling their bodies close. She leads, swaying them back and forth effortlessly. In contrast, Emma is a mess who is all too glad to follow.

As the song builds, so do Emma’s emotions. Tears are welling in her eyes again, this time out of pure happiness.

A month ago, she was feeling lost and alone, the only people in her corner were her principal, her grandma, and Alyssa. There were so few people she could trust.

But now…

Burying her face in Alyssa’s neck, Emma is hit with the sudden realization of how much she actually wanted this. Fighting for the prom had taken up so much of her mental energy that she’d somehow forgotten  _why_  she was fighting so hard. This moment, this quintessential high school experience that she’s seen a million times on television; Emma didn’t let herself want it too much in case it never happened.

“This is really not what I had in mind when I asked you to the prom,” Emma unnecessarily explains. Every person in that room—hell, everyone in Indiana—knows this is not what Emma was thinking of while fighting for the prom.

“You’re not the only one who envisioned a thousand different ways tonight could pan out,” Alyssa admits, lifting her arm to spin Emma. “But, crappy situation or not, I’m glad I ended up in your arms.”

And there it is.

Because, even after all of the shit they’ve been through, they’re still together. Holding each other, dancing together. Whatever comes next—with Alyssa’s mother, with their classmates—none of it matters at the moment because they have each other.

“I am so proud of you,” Emma says, needing her girlfriend to understand just how much tonight means her. Alyssa has turned her entire life upside down to be here and Emma wants to convey how much she appreciates that, appreciates  _her_. “I love you, so much.”

Alyssa smiles widely as Emma lifts an arm to twirl her. “And I love you,” she says as their chests meet again. Waiving their previous dancing positions, she wraps both arms around Emma and sways their bodies together.

They both hold on to each other until the song finishes, neither wanting the moment to end. The world outside is scary, tomorrow is something they don’t want to think about. But, like Alyssa said, they have each other and Emma holds on to that.

Tonight, that’s all they need.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "You're the One That I Want" from Grease.


End file.
